Al Hogan on Vacation?

Imagine a negative economic story in the Times & Transcript. Then imagine a negative economic story in the Times & Transcript that doesn’t include a ‘we’re encouraged’ quote from the Premier or a Cabinet Minister. Imagine a negative economic story in the Times & Transcript that doesn’t do its best to put a positive spin on it. Of course you would have to eliminate Alec Bruce articles/commentary but…

So there we have it. In the T&T today:

N.B. economic growth slows down in 2005Last year was the worst for the New Brunswick economy since the recession 15 years ago.GDP growth just .5 per cent, second slowest in the country

And for good measure a quote from an economist actually telling the truth:

David Chaundy, senior economist with the Halifax-based Atlantic Provinces Economic Council said the weakness revealed in New Brunswick’s key industries is ominous.“They are a big part of the economy and if they are going to be weak in the next three years then growth and therefore employment and incomes are going to be weaker,” he said.“You can’t turn that around overnight but we do have to look at how we improve the competitive position of some of those firms that might still survive.”

0 Responses to Al Hogan on Vacation?

AHESS is the After Hours Emergency Social Services, which is provided by the Department of Family and Community Services (FCS).

Nothing there.

The Early Childhood Initiatives Program was developed in 1992 by the New Brunswick government for priority children and their families. This is a joint effort of Public Health Division, the Medical Services Division, and Family and Community Services.

Note that it was started under McKenna and from Lord’s touting of Harpers deal shows that it’s doubtful this has been expanded.

Futures to Discover

“The funds will be awarded as part of the “Futures to Discover” pilot between the Department of Education and the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation.”

This program helps a grand total of 1058 students over it’s two year life span. Note how its a provincial – FEDERAL partnership. Why exactly was Lord badmouthing the liberals again?

Finally, the biggie:

“Are barriers getting in the way of your job success?

All workers are important to the economic development of New Brunswick. Through TESS, we can provide you the assistance you require to compete for employment. These services are provided in full collaboration with you in accordance with your needs and capabilities.

TESS is structured to your specific situation. Some typical services that you may require are:

* assistance to attend a job search workshop or job fair, * assistance to orient yourself to a new job or workplace, * ergonomic aids to assist you undertake training or employment, or * enterprise planning and development to help prepare you for self employment.

Sound helpful to you? They’ll drive you to a job fair, ask your boss to play nice, maybe get you a hearing aid, and ‘enterprise planning’ for your new multinational corporation that you’ll be working on from your low income apartment where you can’t make noise, build or make anything to sell, or even have access to internet.

So I think we can safely rule out government intervention in the decrease in welfare rolls.